Thursday, May 26, 2016

Vintage craft supplies

I go thrifting a lot, and while I'm searching for treasures I always keep an eye out for craft supplies. Some Goodwill stores will have whole bags of assorted supplies packaged together for a good price.

One of the most common finds is embroidery floss. I always grab any floss I can (as long as it smells good - obviously I avoid anything that smells like smoke or basement). Estate sales will often have large quantities of floss from someone's stash, in nearly mint condition, in just about any color you can imagine.

One cool thing I've noticed is that you can get an idea of the age of the floss by the price. The current price for a skein is about 40 cents, but I often encounter floss with price tags of 15, 10 or even 5 cents.


 I believe floss costing 5 cents would have been made as far back as the 1960s. This beautiful thread has sat around unused for decades! I love the idea that it's been waiting for so long to fulfill its purpose, and now I'm using it to make decorations that will be displayed and enjoyed. It finally gets a chance to shine, after all those years!

FYI, here is what the purple skein was made into.

https://www.etsy.com/listing/293869505/10-lavender-daisy-ornaments-light-purple


My shop: PeachPod






Tuesday, May 24, 2016

Tanks in Alabama

I went down to Alexander City in Alabama for my brother's wedding over the weekend. We had some time to kill on Saturday morning before the ceremony, so we went looking around town for something to do. We found the Charles E Bailey sportplex, which was a park surrounded by sport facilities and playgrounds.

One cool thing we found there was a war memorial with real tanks!




And a plane up on a concrete pedestal.





This gas pump is reeeaaaally old! My brother guessed 1920s or 30s.




We weren't sure what this is. Possibly a well?
Whatever it is, this is the motor for it.




A statue of a Confederate soldier stood above the memorial.




A cool stone cross. I think this might have been a fountain at some point.
And of course there was lots of beautiful nature scenery!








There isn't a ton to do in this little town, but this park was a hidden gem. We spent the whole morning walking through the park, admiring the tanks, and enjoying nature. Pretty cool!







Sunday, May 15, 2016

New motivational video - Social Skills!

My newest motivational video is up on Youtube! This one features positive affirmations for improving social skills and getting more comfortable in social situations. Please check it out! :)





Visit my Youtube channel, SkyHighAffirmations for more motivational videos!
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Thursday, May 12, 2016

Spring flowers!

It's springtime! As I walk the dog around the neighborhood each day or otherwise go about my business, I try to stop and snap a photo of any pretty flowers I see. Here are some of my favorite shots so far this season.

One of the first flowers to bloom, the tiny purple crocus.


I love these little grape hyacinths in their bed of clover.





This yellow tulip was the first to sprout in his garden. A literal early bloomer!



 The azalea bush in front of my house had some big, beautiful white blossoms. That's Creeping Jenny on the ground beneath them. 


A bed of lavender irises around a tree in a neighbor's front yard. 



Big purple clematis flowers with some smaller pale lavender blossoms of some kind.



I'm not sure what these little white guys are, but they're cute! I like the way they're peeking their heads through a pile of sticks. 


These huge white flowers covered the entire shrub next to a mailbox. 


And in the "pretty weed" category, these tiny purple-blue flowers take over huge swaths of my back yard before the grass wakes up and starts filling in. The bumblebees love them!




Interestingly, it seems like purple and white are the predominant colors of both wild and planted flowers in my neighborhood. But more things are blooming, so we'll see what other flowers I can capture as the season goes on!